Plans to demolish parts of former Phillipsburg Ice House move ahead

PHILLIPSBURG, N.J. - The debate over what to do with the property at 1116 S. Main St. in Phillipsburg raged on at the Phillipsburg Town Council meeting Tuesday night.

One of the owners of the property, Carrie Perrucci Scott, addressed council again about the progress of development at the former Ice House property.

Council had previously requested that Scott have the water tower on the property either stabilized or torn down due to structural damage. Since this request, issued in early February, Scott worked on securing some quotes about making these property changes.

Scott expressed her intention to keep the mill section of the property because of its possible historical significance to the town. She plans to have the water tower and the two concrete buildings behind it torn down. The water tower could have some possible value as scrap metal.

Kevin Duddy, the construction code official for Phillipsburg, agreed that the water tower in particular needed to come down as soon as possible.

"It [the water tower] stilled stayed up through Hurricane Sandy but over the years I've seen the deterioration of the structure itself and I don't really think we should wait around to see what happens," Duddy said.

The state of the mill on the property, made of stone, has yet to be fully determined. Scott hopes to keep it intact and simply replace the roof. The council asked that Duddy look into it.

Scott and her husband have owned the Ice House property since 2001. The property is currently for sale and Scott hopes that the pending renovations will make it more appealing.

The council asked that Scott return in 30 days with a more concrete plan including dates and phases of renovation.

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